American Go E-Journal » Europe

Ukraine: Oleksandr Hiliazov 1d bested Anton Boreiko 4k at the Kharkiv Championship on January 25 while Leonid Shumakov 5k placed third. United Kingdom: The Maidenhead finished on January 24 with Charles Hibbert 2d in first, Alistair Wall 1d in second, and Jitka Bartova 1d (left) in third. Russia: Mikhail Dobricyn 3k took the Russian Championship Under 12 in Cheljabinsk on January 18. Behind him were Egor Arsentjev 2k in second and Savva Mezin 6k in third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

Pandanet Go European Team Championship: On January 13th, the UK secured a win against the South African team with a score of 3 wins to 1 loss, making it their fifth win in the league. A commentary by Andrew Simons of his own game against Victor Chow 7d can be found in the news article on the BGA website. The UK team currently ranks second to Bulgaria in their league. The two teams will play on February 24th.- edited by Amy Su from reports on the BGA website.

Sweden: The Jusandan 2015 finished on January 18 in Stockholm with Yaqi Fu 6d (left) in first, Charlie Aakerblom 4d in second, and Fredrik Blowback 6d in third. Czech Republic: Also on January 18, Martin Jurek 5d took the 5th Decin Open Tournament. Behind him were Ondrej Kachyna 2d in second and Tadeas Berkman 1k in third. Turkey: Ertug Akkol 1d bested Mustafa Morca 2k at the 2nd Istanbul City Championship Finals on January 17 while Barkin Celebican 2k placed third.– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

Online EGF Academy to Launch in March: In “another very important milestone for European go,” European Go Federation (EGF) President Martin Stiassny reports that the new online EGF Academy will launch March 23. “The EGF Academy will offer online-playing, analyzing and teaching in different groups for more than 30 players,” says Stiassny. The Academy is a result of an agreement Ge Yuhong, owner of the go school in Beijing where EGF students are now studying, and Luo Gang, chief manager of CEGO. The General Manager for the project will be Viktor Lin, the vice-president of the Austrian Go Association.

EGF Seeks Young Players for Beijing Go Academy: The EGF is looking for young European go players interested in studying in Beijing under theEGF-CEGO cooperation agreement ((European Go Federation Inks Deal With Chinese to Promote Go in Europe7/5/2013 EJ). “Our goal is to find players in Europe younger than 18, maybe 16 years old, best case 14 years old,” says Stiassny. “If you have a candidate, Chinese pro Zhao Baolong is coming back to Europe in March, to test these promising boys and girls.” Contact Stiassny at martin.go.europe@gmail.com for details and to nominate students.

The Central London Go Club A team — Franciso Divers, Michael Webster and Chuck Fisher — won the 2014 season of the online league and reclaimed the GoGoD shield from Edinburgh. The second division was won by the Cornish Rogues, who will be moving up to the first division next year. The next season of the online league is scheduled to start promptly in April.
- edited by Amy Su from a report on the BGA website.

Germany: Matthias Terwey 4d (left) took the Essen 2015 on January 11. Behind him were Barbara Knauf 3d and Bernd Radmacher 4d. Poland: Also on January 11, the Polish Youth Championship – U16 playoff finished in Ozarow Mazowiecki with Stanislaw Frejlak 4d in first, Maksym Walaszewski 1k in second, and Julia Bednarska 18k in third. Netherlands: Frank Janssen 6d bested Rene Aaij 4d at the wintergo_2014 in Overasselt while Dick Riedeman 3d came third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

41st London Open Go Congress: Chi-Min Oh 7d won the 2014 London Open, which ran December 28-31. Chi-Min Oh 7d had seven wins; prizes were also awarded to Young Sam Kim 7d in second, Mateusz Surma 7d in third, and Xiao Ma 7d in fourth. The first David Ward Cup was awarded in memory of long-standing UK player David Ward, who passed away in 2013. It was donated by his widow, Helen Ward, and presented by Korean professional — and IGF Secretary General — Hajin Lee to Matthew Cocke, who was the highest-placed UK player in the tournament.- edited by Amy Su from reports on the BGA website.

Russia: Andrej Cheburakhov 5d (left) bested Anton Chernykh 3d at the Cup of Moscow on December 21 while Andrej Kashaev 5d placed third. Austria: Also on December 21, Viktor Lin 6d took the Austrian Championship Finals in Vienna. Behind him were Schayan Hamrah 5d second and Lothar Spiegel 5d in third. Serbia: The Serbian Women’s Championship finished on December 21 in Belgrade with Natasa Bosnjak 2k in first, Ivana Stojanovik 3k in second, and Marta Jorgacevic 2k in third.– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

Romania: Liviu Oprisan 4d bested George Chirila 1d (left) at the 6th Radu Baciu Grand Prix in CSRB on December 14 while Mihai Lita 2d came in third. Ukraine: Also on December 14, the Tournament of 50 parallel finished in Kharkiv with Oleksandr Hiliazov 1d in first, Anton Parafilo 8k in second, and Leonid Shumakov 5k in third. Serbia: Lazar Manojlovic 5d took the 39th Serbian Championship on December 14 in Kragujevac. Mijodrag Stankovic 5d placed second and Dragan Mitic 4d was third.
– Annalia Linnan, based on reports from EuroGoTV, which include complete result tables and all the latest European go news; photo courtesy of EuroGoTV

The 2015 European Go Congress will be held in Liberec, the Czech Republic, from July 25th to August 8th. “I´d liketo invite American go players to join us,” says Vladimir Danek, chief of the EGC 2015 Organizing Committee and president of the Czech Go Association. “The motto of this Go Congress is ‘Go, Fun and Relaxation’“ says Danek. “We want to make the Congress attractive for everybody.” Click here to check out their cool video. Liberec is 100 km north of Prague, “very close to Germany and Poland,” Danek adds. The Congress site is the Babylon Center, which, in addition to conference halls, hotel and restaurants, has attractions including the Aquapark, iQpark, bowling, golf simulator and other activities. “The large open terrace on the roof of Babylon will be a great place for meeting friends and playing friendly games,” Danek promises. Although the EGC runs for two weeks, “you can also play for just one week or visit us for a couple of days,” says Danek. Registration goes up after January 1.photo: still from 2015 EGC video